I consider myself a borough broad through and through. Though I ended up in Astoria after college primarily for financial reasons, I have fallen completely in love with the area, and all other Queens and Brooklyn 'hoods where many of my friends have settled. In fact, after going to school in The Bronx, living in Queens, and socializing predominantly in BK, I've lost any desire to ever live in Manhattan at this point. However, if I were to inherit a small fortune one day, I'd probably immediately eat my words and head straight to the West Village.

I found myself roaming around its brownstone and geranium rich streets just last week, gawking at their beauty. In my opinion, there is no quainter part of Manhattan, and while it's practically impossible to say which West Village spots are "the best of the best," here's a stab at some top recs...

Food

If, for whatever reason, you only have time to make one stop for grub, then you must drop everything and eat all the cheese at Murray's Cheese Shop.

Though these other spots rock too:

Le Baratin: Erin and I accidentally stumbled upon Le Baratin one freezing cold winter night. It's a total Frenchie hole-in-the-wall with solid fare, a warm staff, and absolutely hilarious patrons.